White House Authorshttps://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/authors/91813
enWe the People is Two Years Old https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/09/27/we-people-two-years-old
This week, We the People, the White House petitions platform, turned two years old. And through the past 24 months, it's kept us pretty busy.

Since 2012, We the People has grown from 2.8 million users to more than 10.2 million -- a 360% growth rate. And those users have signed petitions a total of more than 15 million times (up from just 3.4 million last year).

We've already issued official responses to more than 200 petitions -- and we've got more on the way. Even those of us who thought this program would be successful weren't expecting this.

Ultimately, We the People has become an incredible way to hear from people about the issues that they care about -- something we've seen again and again in the last year.

President Barack Obama delivers remarks during his address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, N.Y., Sept. 23, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Amanda Lucidon)

Speaking to the United Nations General Assembly this morning, President Obama expressed optimism at the prospects for diplomacy in solving a range of long-simmering conflicts across the globe.

"For decades, the United Nations has in fact made a difference -- from helping to eradicate disease, to educating children, to brokering peace," he said. "But like every generation of leaders, we face new and profound challenges, and this body continues to be tested. The question is whether we possess the wisdom and the courage, as nation-states and members of an international community, to squarely meet those challenges; whether the United Nations can meet the tests of our time."

Specifically, he focused his remarks on three themes -- the civil war in Syria and the use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime, the potential for diplomatic engagement with Iran, and a revival of peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians.

Discussing Syria, the President said that we've seen progress in recent days.

"The Syrian government took a first step by giving an accounting of its stockpiles," he said. "Now there must be a strong Security Council resolution to verify that the Assad regime is keeping its commitments, and there must be consequences if they fail to do so."

The President also told the General Assembly that he has hopes for a diplomatic solution to Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons -- despite decades of mistrust.

"I don’t believe this difficult history can be overcome overnight -- the suspicions run too deep," he said. "But I do believe that if we can resolve the issue of Iran’s nuclear program, that can serve as a major step down a long road towards a different relationship, one based on mutual interests and mutual respect."

Finally, the President urged the entire international community to rally behind the pursuit of peace between Palestinians and Israelis.

"Friends of Israel, including the United States, must recognize that Israel’s security as a Jewish and democratic state depends upon the realization of a Palestinian state, and we should say so clearly," he said. "Arab states, and those who supported the Palestinians, must recognize that stability will only be served through a two-state solution and a secure Israel. All of us must recognize that peace will be a powerful tool to defeat extremists throughout the region, and embolden those who are prepared to build a better future."

]]>The PresidentWhite HouseSyriaForeign PolicyAmanda LucidonBarack ObamaMatt ComptonNew YorkNew YorkSyriaUnited StatesTue, 24 Sep 2013 22:40:00 +0000<a href="/blog/author/Matt Compton" class="author-name">Matt Compton</a>237406 at https://www.whitehouse.govWeekly Address: Congress Must Act Now to Pass a Budget and Raise the Debt Ceilinghttps://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/09/21/weekly-address-congress-must-act-now-pass-budget-and-raise-debt-ceiling
In his weekly address, President Obama says the economy is making progress five years after the worst recession since the Great Depression, but to avoid another crisis, Congress must meet two deadlines in the coming weeks: pass a budget by the end of the month to keep the government open, and raise the debt ceiling so America can pay its bills. Congress should vote to do these now, so that we can keep creating new jobs and expanding opportunity for the middle class.

]]>The PresidentWhite HouseWeekly AddressEconomyMatt ComptonMegan SlackSyriaSat, 21 Sep 2013 09:30:00 +0000<a href="/blog/author/Matt Compton" class="author-name">Matt Compton</a>236716 at https://www.whitehouse.govWeekly Address: Pursuing a Diplomatic Solution in Syriahttps://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/09/14/weekly-address-pursuing-diplomatic-solution-syria
President Obama follows up on his speech to the nation on Tuesday and describes the possibility for a diplomatic solution in Syria, partially because of the credible threat of U.S. military force.

President Barack Obama holds a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Sept. 12, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

This morning, President Obama convened a meeting of his Cabinet -- the third of 2013.

"Even as we have been spending a lot of time on the Syria issue and making sure that international attention is focused on the horrible tragedy that occurred there," he said, "it is still important to recognize that we’ve got a lot more stuff to do here in this government."

In talking through the agenda, the President described focusing on the steps necessary to improve education, put people back to work, and tackle some of the budget debates looming in the near future.

Just after 9:00 PM ET, President Obama delivered a national address from the East Room of the White House to discuss the situation in Syria. He explained why he has called for military strikes in response to the Assad regime's use of chemical weapons, laid out his reasons for asking Congress to authorize the use of force, and described how the threat of U.S. action has created the potential for a diplomatic breakthrough.

"Terrible things happen across the globe, and it is beyond our means to right every wrong," the President said. "But when, with modest effort and risk, we can stop children from being gassed to death, and thereby make our own children safer over the long run, I believe we should act."

]]>The PresidentWhite HouseSyriaMiddle East and North AfricaForeign PolicyBarack ObamaLawrence JacksonMatt ComptonSyriaUnited StatesWed, 11 Sep 2013 02:06:09 +0000<a href="/blog/author/Matt Compton" class="author-name">Matt Compton</a>234876 at https://www.whitehouse.govPresident Obama's Remarks to the AFL-CIOhttps://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/09/09/president-obamas-remarks-afl-cio
This week, the AFL-CIO, the largest labor federation in the United States, welcomed delegates from its fifty-seven affiliated unions to Los Angeles for the group's quadrennial convention.

In a video, President Obama thanked the delegates for their work on behalf of the working men and women of America and voiced his shared commitment to their fight.

]]>The PresidentWhite HouseWeekly AddressEconomyUrban PolicyAdditional IssuesMatt ComptonMegan SlackSat, 31 Aug 2013 09:45:00 +0000<a href="/blog/author/Matt Compton" class="author-name">Matt Compton</a>233321 at https://www.whitehouse.govMore than 3.34 Million Records Releasedhttps://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/08/30/more-than-34-million-records-released
In September 2009, the President announced that—for the first time in history—White House visitor records would be made available to the public on an ongoing basis. Today, the White House releases visitor records that were generated in May 2013. This release brings the total number of records made public by this White House to more than 3.34 million—all of which can be viewed in our Disclosures section.

]]>The PresidentWhite HouseWeekly AddressHealth CareBarack ObamaEzra MechaberLawrence JacksonMatt ComptonSat, 17 Aug 2013 09:30:00 +0000<a href="/blog/author/Matt Compton" class="author-name">Matt Compton</a>231561 at https://www.whitehouse.govPresident Obama Calls for an End to Violence in Egypthttps://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/08/15/president-obama-calls-end-violence-egypt
President Obama this morning issued a statement on the unfolding situation in Egypt and called for an end to violence.

"The United States strongly condemns the steps that have been taken by Egypt’s interim government and security forces," he said. "We deplore violence against civilians. We support universal rights essential to human dignity, including the right to peaceful protest. We oppose the pursuit of martial law, which denies those rights to citizens under the principle that security trumps individual freedom, or that might makes right. And today the United States extends its condolences to the families of those who were killed and those who were wounded."

The President announced that he is canceling the biannual joint military training exercise that U.S. forces hold with Egyptian counterparts and weighing the implications of the Egyptian interim government's actions as the United States considers further steps that we may take.

]]>The PresidentWhite HouseMiddle East and North AfricaForeign PolicyEgyptMatt ComptonUnited StatesThu, 15 Aug 2013 16:58:18 +0000<a href="/blog/author/Matt Compton" class="author-name">Matt Compton</a>231401 at https://www.whitehouse.govHow Immigration Reform Will Benefit Farmers and Rural Communities https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/07/29/how-immigration-reform-will-benefit-farmers-and-rural-communities
Today, the White House released a new report detailing the important benefits provided by the bipartisan Senate immigration reform bill for the domestic agriculture sector, its workforce, and rural American communities. As the report states, in recent years, the agriculture sector has seen strong growth, with farm income and agriculture exports both reaching historic highs. But there’s more work to do, and currently the agriculture industry is hampered by a broken immigration system that fails to support a predictable and stable workforce. Among all economic sectors, the U.S. agriculture sector is particularly reliant on foreign-born workers. Agricultural producers cite difficulty in locating qualified available authorized workers—both foreign and domestic—as one reason for the high rate of undocumented labor. Moreover, there continues to be insufficient U.S. workers to fill labor needs: of those crop workers surveyed between 2007 and 2009, 71 percent were foreign born.

As President Obama said in his State of the Union address, "If we’re truly committed to strengthening our middle class and providing more ladders of opportunity to those who are willing to work hard to make it into the middle class, we’ve got to fix the system. We have to bring this shadow economy into the light so that everybody is held accountable — businesses for who they hire, and immigrants for getting on the right side of the law. That’s common sense. And that’s why we need comprehensive immigration reform."

In June, the Senate passed historic legislation that is largely consistent with the President’s principles for commonsense immigration reform with a strong bipartisan vote. This bill would strengthen border security while providing an earned path to citizenship for undocumented farmworkers who are vital to our nation’s agriculture industry, and a new temporary worker program negotiated by major grower associations and farmworker groups. If enacted, the Senate bill would result in undocumented workers paying a fine, their full share of taxes and is estimated to allow an estimated 1.5 million agricultural workers and their dependents to earn legal status.

To learn more about how the Senate-passed bill and bipartisan commonsense immigration reform would benefit the agriculture sector and rural communities, check out this fact sheet or read the full report released today by the White House.

]]>White HouseEconomyImmigrationMatt ComptonMon, 29 Jul 2013 18:11:23 +0000<a href="/blog/author/Matt Compton" class="author-name">Matt Compton</a>228321 at https://www.whitehouse.govWeekly Address: A Better Bargain for the Middle Classhttps://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/07/27/weekly-address-better-bargain-middle-class
President Obama tells the American people about his speech at Knox College on Wednesday, where he discussed the cornerstones of what it means to be middle class, including having a good job, a home that is your own, quality education, a secure retirement, and affordable health care.

]]>The PresidentWhite HouseWeekly AddressEconomyUrban PolicyMatt ComptonMegan SlackObama LaysUnited StatesSat, 27 Jul 2013 09:45:00 +0000<a href="/blog/author/Matt Compton" class="author-name">Matt Compton</a>228176 at https://www.whitehouse.govMore than 3.3 Million Records Releasedhttps://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/07/26/more-33-million-records-released
In September 2009, the President announced that—for the first time in history—White House visitor records would be made available to the public on an ongoing basis. Today, the White House releases visitor records that were generated in April 2013. Today’s release also includes visitor records generated prior to September 16, 2009 that were requested by members of the public in June 2013 pursuant to the White House voluntary disclosure policy. This release brings the total number of records made public by this White House to more than 3.3 million—all of which can be viewed in our Disclosures section.

]]>White HouseEthicsMatt ComptonVisitor RecordsFri, 26 Jul 2013 19:00:47 +0000<a href="/blog/author/Matt Compton" class="author-name">Matt Compton</a>227446 at https://www.whitehouse.govWeekly Address: Strengthening our Economy by Passing Bipartisan Immigration Reformhttps://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/07/13/weekly-address-strengthening-our-economy-passing-bipartisan-immigration-reform
President Obama discusses how a large, bipartisan majority in the Senate voted to pass comprehensive immigration reform, which would add a big boost to our economy, strengthen Social Security, and modernize our legal immigration system to make it more consistent with our values. He calls on Congress to pass this commonsense bill quickly so that we can fix our broken immigration system and keep America strong for years to come.

]]>The PresidentWhite HouseWeekly AddressJobsEconomyImmigrationMatt ComptonMegan SlackUnited StatesSat, 13 Jul 2013 09:30:03 +0000<a href="/blog/author/Matt Compton" class="author-name">Matt Compton</a>225536 at https://www.whitehouse.govNearly 3.3 Million Records Releasedhttps://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/06/28/nearly-33-million-records-released
In September 2009, the President announced that—for the first time in history—White House visitor records would be made available to the public on an ongoing basis. Today's release includes visitor records generated during the month March 2013, and additional records from February 2013. This release brings the total number of records made public by this White House to nearly 3.3 million—all of which can be viewed in our Disclosures section.

On Tuesday afternoon, President Obama will speak at Georgetown University and lay out his vision for the steps we need to take to prepare our country for the impacts of climate change and lead the global effort to fight it. In the video below, he describes why this is the time to take action. Watch it, then share the video with your friends.

President Barack Obama tapes the Weekly Address and videos in the Blue Room of the White House, June 21, 2013.
(Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

President Obama discusses the bipartisan legislation in the United States Senate that would take important steps towards fixing our broken immigration system, while growing our economy and reducing the deficit.

]]>The PresidentWhite HouseWeekly AddressEconomyImmigrationBarack ObamaChuck KennedyMatt ComptonMegan SlackUnited StatesSat, 22 Jun 2013 09:30:33 +0000<a href="/blog/author/Matt Compton" class="author-name">Matt Compton</a>221646 at https://www.whitehouse.govA Great Way to Save $1,000,000,000,000https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/06/20/great-way-save-1000000000000
This week, we got some great news: The Congressional Budget Office, the nonpartisan experts who analyze the financial impact of legislation, believes that Senate immigration bill will reduce the deficit by almost $1 trillion over the next two decades.

How's that work? Immigration reform means that undocumented immigrants can come out of the shadows and start paying more in taxes for things like education and Social Security. It means that everyone plays by the same set of rules -- which makes the economy fairer for middle class families.

We've put together a graphic that explains exactly how this works, and we need your help to share it.

]]>White HouseDebt DebateEconomyImmigrationMatt ComptonThu, 20 Jun 2013 18:10:37 +0000<a href="/blog/author/Matt Compton" class="author-name">Matt Compton</a>221301 at https://www.whitehouse.govPresident Obama Discusses the National Security Agency on Charlie Rose https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/06/18/president-obama-discusses-national-security-agency-charlie-rose
President Obama discussed a range of issues in his interview last night on PBS, but the National Security Agency was the topic for an extended part of the conversation.

"My job is both to protect the American people and to protect the American way of life, which includes our privacy," he said. "So every program that we engage in, what I've said is let's examine and make sure that we're making the right tradeoffs."

President Barack Obama participates in an interview with Charlie Rose in the White House Library, Sunday, June 16, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Before leaving for this week's G-8 summit in the United Kingdom, President Obama sat down with Charlie Rose in the White House Library for a 45-minute interview on topics ranging from Syria to the National Security Agency.

That discussion will air tonight at 11:00 PM on PBS stations across the country. For more specifics, check your local listings.

]]>The PresidentWhite HouseDefenseForeign PolicyInside the White HouseArab AmericanBarack ObamaCharlie RoseMatt ComptonPete SouzaSyriaUnited KingdomMon, 17 Jun 2013 18:02:25 +0000<a href="/blog/author/Matt Compton" class="author-name">Matt Compton</a>220316 at https://www.whitehouse.govWeekly Address: Celebrating Father's Day Weekendhttps://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/06/14/weekly-address-celebrating-fathers-day-weekend
President Obama discusses Father’s Day and notes that nothing substitutes for the love and support of the presence of a parent in a child’s life.

]]>The PresidentWhite HouseWeekly AddressInside the White HouseUrban PolicyAdditional IssuesMatt ComptonMegan SlackUnited StatesFaith-based and Neighborhood Sat, 15 Jun 2013 09:30:00 +0000<a href="/blog/author/Matt Compton" class="author-name">Matt Compton</a>220116 at https://www.whitehouse.govCecilia Muñoz: "He's trained engineers for 55 years"https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/06/11/cecilia-mu-oz-hes-trained-engineers-55-years
This afternoon, Cecilia Muñoz sent the message below to the White House email list, asking people to share their American stories. If you didn't get the email, be sure to sign up.

Hi, all --

A couple weeks ago, I was in a meeting with a group of community leaders and President Obama here at the White House. Before the discussion kicked off, one of the women in attendance handed me a letter. It was written by her dad, a 90 year old college professor from Cleveland.

He was born in China in 1923, and he came to the United States with $24 in his pocket. Two years later, he'd earned a master's in electrical engineering. Five years after that, he had completed his PhD. In 55 years of teaching, he's trained 180 graduate students.

"I fulfilled my dream," he wrote in that letter. "I light up a spot on the great nation of opportunity."

"The day that the bill was signed into law, women earned 59 cents for every dollar a man earned on average, he said. "Today, it’s about 77 cents. So it was 59 and now it’s 77 cents. It’s even less, by the way, if you’re an African American or a Latina. So I guess that’s progress, but does anybody here think that’s good enough?"

The President has made tackling this issue a priority since his first day in the White House. The first bill that President Obama ever signed was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. His administration was the first to create a White House Council on Women and Girls. He launched a National Equal Pay Task Force to help crack down on violations of equal pay laws, and earlier this year, he signed a presidential memorandum directing the federal government to close the gender gap for its employees.

But there's more work to do -- like passing the Paycheck Fairness Act, training more women for careers in science, technology, and math, and making sure that businesses offer parents the flexibility they need to excel in their jobs and care for their children.

"This will be part of our broader agenda to create good jobs and to strengthen middle-class security, to keep rebuilding an economy that works for everybody, that gives every American the chance to get ahead, no matter who you are or what you look like, or what your last name is and who you love," the President said.

For more perspective on the anniversary of the Equal Pay Act, check out the video below: